Time-Lapse

Time-lapse technology

Embryos are in-vitro cultured in incubators for 2-6 days before embryo transfer takes place. Traditionally, conventional incubators are used, where embryos are taken out for morphological grading assessment at discrete time points each day. However, it has several drawbacks. Firstly, human pre-implantation embryos are extremely sensitive to both chemical and physical factors which include temperature, pH, light and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Exposure to external environment during evaluation may impose detrimental effect on embryos. Secondly, it is impossible to evaluate the whole dynamic development process of embryos that significant events may be missed between observational time points.

The emergence of time-lapse imaging (TLI) systems has offered solutions to overcome these pitfalls. TLI system integrates incubator, high resolution camera and software into one single unit. Images of every embryo are automatically captured every 5-20 minutes, thereby allows continuous monitoring of embryo development without disturbing culture conditions.

Time-Lapse Video